Rock Off is spot on

Rock Off is Hervey Bay’s indoor skate park

Over the last three years, the park has been rebuilt twice to ensure that it meets the wants and needs of its ever-growing number of members. Its ramps are of the highest quality with many safety measures such as resin mats added to the timber frames and bases to ensure minimum injury from impact for those using them. The park has good natural light and airflow, a canteen and equipment shop.

But Rock Off is more than just a skate park.

It is also a place that nurtures children’s confidence by providing a secure environment with a strict adherence to its ZERO BULLYING, ZERO TOLERANCE policy.

Rock Off is owned and operated by Tim and Jayn Earle, both work closely with community groups such as Head Space, Red Cross, Re-Connect and Employment First Aid. As such they have become a reliable referral service to troubled kids, simply by listening then pointing the kids to the best help depending on their needs. No matter what the problem, whether it be helping provide kids with swags or meals, the owners of Rock Off do what they can to ensure that the park becomes a centre of engagement.

“The kids feel safe at the park and because of this the park and its staff are often at the cold face, or the first safe point of contact for kids having issues. The kids know they are in a safe zone and so often come and talk about their problems,” owner Tim said.

Rock Off also provides kids with a great network of friends and support with a 9000-strong, mostly local, membership. Kids travel from as far as Gympie through to Gladstone each weekend to enjoy the facilities offered by the skate park. The park caters mainly to scooter riding and offers not only lessons but also up to eight competitions each year – many of those happening during school holidays. As many as 200 kids turn out for these events. The Rock Off team also travels to competitions run by the Australian Scooter Association.  This includes Australian registered qualifiers and state titles.

The Fraser Coast region has a good record of producing young champions, our most prominent being Dylan Sinclair, a young Maryborough man who after having only one year of training at Rock Off moved to the Australian Scooter Association as a pro. He won the Pro Rider title for the whole of the country that year. He then went to Barcelona for the world titles and came ninth which is a remarkable achievement. He has since travelled all over Europe. His life was changed dramatically by his time learning at Rock Off and he now has a big future ahead of him in extreme sports.

Rock Off needs local support to continue its great work.  They do affordable birthday parties and have extremely reasonable rates for anything from one hour to three hour sessions.

“We keep our prices low to match the socio-economic climate of the region. We need to just make enough money to keep the doors open,” Tim said.

Rock Off’s long-term ambition is to grow a strong competitive team by enhancing kid’s skills and confidence in a safe environment through community involvement. The park has kids as young as four attending, as one mother Nicki commented about her four-year-old son Isaiah who has been coming to the Park for the last 6 months

“It has built his confidence remarkably, not to mention it gets him out and off his Ipad! The support from the other kids has also been great,” Nicki said.  Rock Off offers a unique bully free, secure environment that supports, teaches and builds kids’ confidence through activity, open communication and the creation of a caring culture.

Rock off needs community support to ensure that its good work not only continues but grows.  The more help the park receives, the more it can improve and grow its facilities.

Put Rock Off on your list of children’s activities this summer holiday, we can guarantee you won’t regret it. Both girls and boys welcome!